Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi
Ok, I know this isn't Friday. But, since I skipped a day on the Retreat/Lock-in Weekend, I need to squeeze in an extra post to finish the study before my Regularly Scheduled Blogging Break on the third week of July. And, since tying up loose ends is sort of a Jubilee thing, I decided to make it my Jubilee post for this week, too. ;)
The Epistle of James: A Blogged Bible Study
The study to date:
May 1: Study intro
May 8: James 1:1 Intro to the Epistle of James
May 15: James 1:2 – 18 Make Quality Decisions
May 22: James 1:19-27 Make Real Changes
May 29: James 2:1-13 Live the Law of Freedom
June 5: James 2:14 – 26 Demonstrate Real Faith
June 12: James 3: 1 - 12 Discipline the Tongue
June 26: James 3:13 - 18 Recognize True Wisdom
June 29 James 4:1 – 10 Check Your Sources
I. Desires can come from the wrong source (4:1 – 3)
James segues from his discussion of true wisdom into some very practical teaching about relating to one another. It's interesting that he follows his statement that peacemakers harvest righteousness by observing that there are fights and arguments between the believers. This, he points out, is due to selfish desires that fight to control the body. This can be a double reference...not only do individuals struggle with selfish desires, but when an individual gives into those personal selfish desires, the corporate body suffers as an individual or group of individuals attempts to control the assembly.
Desires that fight within individuals are those desires which are mutually exclusive... trying to please God while satisfying one's selfish agenda... and are symptomatic of double-mindedness (see 1:7-8). Desires of the natural man are those that the individual will do anything to satisfy, considering that the end justifies the means. Someone who is maneuvering and manipulating to satisfy personal agendas does not acknowledge God as the Source; there is no humbling oneself to admit the inability to truly satisfy oneself and asking God to fulfill the desire (by the way, such a reluctance to ask God for something usually indicates that we know deep down that what we desire is not God’s will for us). Or, an individual does acknowledge God, but what is desired is not for God’s service, but for his/her own pleasure or to satisfy personal ambition, still not recognizing God's plan and authority.
II. Satisfaction will never come from the wrong source (4:4 – 6)
James identifies such folks as people who are unfaithful to God (lit. ‘adulterous’, as in a woman who cheats on her husband) by seeking a relationship with ‘The World.’
Here's a definition of 'The World': The system that places value on human achievement, favor, power, and wealth while devaluing godly principles and priorities. Spiritual things are valued only as a means to personal power.
Compare. Ex. 20:5 You shall not bow down to [idols]or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God.... with James 4:5 , which literally says that ‘to envy yearns the spirit which dwelt in you.’ It's an awkwardly worded passage, yes, but not a difficult concept. God will not – can not – bless anyone who tries to earn esteem from the system that is opposed to Him. One who is seeking anything from the world has his back turned to God. Yet God longs to bless us. So, if we refuse to humble ourselves, God, in His grace, will humiliate us in order to put us in the place of humility where we are blessable.
III. Blessing comes from looking only to God as Source (4:7 – 10)
As a solution to the 'desires that war within us', James gives us seven practical instructions in order to become the kind of people that God can bless and use:
1) Submit to God - recognize His authority and quit pursuing a personal agenda
2) Resist the Devil -his plan is to prevent you from submitting to God; we must actively work against allowing the enemy's influence in our lives.
3)Come near to God - just as we actively work against listening to the enemy, we need to actively pursue a relationship with God..because the very pursuit of God draws Him to us.
4) Wash your hands: Clean up your lives and get rid of ungodly activities
5) Purify your hearts: eliminate self-centered motives.
6) Grieve (be sad, be sorry, weep, stop laughing, be gloomy) for your sin; don't fool yourself into thinking it's not a big deal. Sin is either forgiven through repentance and faith, or it brings about death. 'Excused' is not an option.
7)Be humble before God. Recognize what He does in and for us and always remember that It is He that has made us, and not we ourselves (Ps. 100:3)
And then - notice the last half of verse 10: He will lift you up. He will see to it that we each walk in our destiny and calling; it is not something for us to manipulate. If we do those seven things, we will be aligned and positioned in heart and life to do what God has called each of us to do.
Things to think about 'bow down' means 'submit to' ; 'worship' means to esteem, honor, serve.
What is in my life, other than God, that I submit myself to, or that I give esteem, honor and service, that I see as a source for meeting my needs? What do I need to do to turn towards God and away from that source?
No comments:
Post a Comment